Too Honest ~ James Potter

Chapter 34

*7th Year*

By only an hour after breakfast, Mariya was regretting going to Sirius for help - he had thought she was joking at first and had fallen into a strange silence once he had realised that she was being serious. Mariya had dragged him out into the grounds after breakfast in order to talk to him, this had been easier said than done as James had hung around him like a particularly persistent fly and once he had disappeared, Mariya had had to act quickly in order to avoid his return.

Eventually though, Mariya managed to get him out of the house and they found themselves sitting outside on the outskirts of the quidditch pitch Mariya had spotted when she had first approached the house. Sirius hadn't said a word to her once she had expressed her desire to talk about James, instead sitting in a thoughtful silence and so Mariya was simply staring at the horizon to distract herself.

After a while of not saying anything Sirius spoke up, "Moony and I had our suspicions, of course we couldn't be sure but we thought it was quite likely."

Mariya turned to look at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Sirius blushed pale pink, "I'm probably not supposed to say this out loud but Remus and I suspect that James may no longer be completely obsessed with Evans."

Mariya nodded in understanding, "That would make sense given that he had been chasing after her for years and she has never offered any indication that she may ever like him back. It probably isn't healthy for him to experience her constant rejections."

Sirius muttered to himself for a moment before offering anything audible, "The only problem is that," He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "We think he might have gained feelings for someone else."

"Who?" Mariya asked and was surprised when Sirius sent her a shocked look.

"What do you mean 'Who?'?" He asked incredulously. "Isn't it obvious?"

Mariya snorted, "Clearly not to me, seeing as I am asking."

Sirius continued to stare at her for a moment before muttering something that Mariya couldn't quite hear.

"I didn't catch that, Sirius. I don't have super hearing." Mariya offered him a raised eyebrow and the boy in question frowned back at her.

Sirius opened his mouth as if to say something before closing it again and then managing to get out, "I'm not meant to say anything." He proceeded to get up, turn tail, and run as if his life depended on it. Mariya watched him for a few moments before shaking her head in disbelief and swivelling back to face the pitch.

"What a strange human being that boy is."

James on the other hand, was confused as to why Sirius was sprinting up to the house whilst Mariya was nowhere to be seen. His first instinct was to presume that something had happened to her and so hurried down the stairs from his room to the front door. Getting there only seconds before Sirius, though in a far less harried state.

"What's wrong?" James asked, a note of urgency filling his voice. "Is she hurt?"

Sirius, still trying to catch his breath, looked up at him in confusion. Eventually he managed to say a single word, "Who?"

"Mariya of course!" James exclaimed in incredulity, "Who else could I possibly be talking about‽ Anyway that's not the point, where is she and is everything alright?"

Sirius nodded and James felt his muscles relax, "Well then why on Earth do you look so panicked, Padfoot?"

The aforementioned boy took a deep breath before spitting out, "Do you like Mariya?"

James thought he had heard his best friend wrong for a moment before noticing the urgent look in Sirius's eyes and realising that he was genuinely asking. It was a concept that James had not really considered before and yet he realised that he had suddenly started to spend a lot of time with Mariya and they had spent the better part of their time at the Halloween ball together despite not actually going as each others dates.

Sirius took a shuddering breath as he saw the way his friend was genuinely considering the question, his hesitance spoke for itself and Sirius was sure that he and Remus had been correct with their suspicions. He wasn't quite sure how to handle knowing that the two almost certainly liked each other and knew that he would have to keep his mouth shut as best as possible.

James sunk to the floor, his back against one wall and Sirius sat down next to him. "What if I do like her?" He asked in a barely audible whisper, "What am I supposed to do then?"

Sirius knew from his questions that he did like her and that James was looking to him for advice. Taking a deep breath, he put his arm around the other man and offered the best advice he had to give, "You have to tell her, mate, she deserves to know and I reckon that she feels the sa-"

Catching himself, Sirius tried to backtrack for a moment before spluttering himself into silence and hoping that James hadn't noticed his slip up. Unfortunately for him, this was too good to be true and James turned to face him.

"What do you mean she feels the same? What did she say?" His face was a baffling combination of emotions that Sirius couldn't be bothered to try and dissect.

Wincing he answered reluctantly, "When she dragged me outside this morning, she wanted to talk to me about you. I thought she was joking at first but she seemed to really want to discuss you."

"And what did you tell her?" James was starting to look like an excited puppy and Sirius was concerned about him not liking the answers.

"I told her that Moony and I thought you were over Evans."

"And?" James prompted, facing falling into worry about what Sirius could possibly have said that would cause him to act so strangely.

"And that we thought you might have gained feelings for someone else... I didn't tell her it was her." He hurriedly added as James looked at him in disbelief.

"How did you know that I liked her?" James asked, looking genuinely confused.

"You're my best mate and practically my brother, Prongs - I can read you like an open book even when you can't."

"Thanks Padfoot." James leaned over and pulled the boy into a tight hug, "You're the best."

"Don't let Moony hear you saying that." Sirius grinned, "He might stop letting us copy his homework and I really don't want to fail."